LATEST NEWS FROM TC&W

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Nearly 400 guests boarded maroon and gold passenger cars from a bygone era July 21-23 as part of TC&W's 25th birthday celebration. President Mark Wegner said the excursions were his company's way of saying "thank you" to the elected officials, customers and employees who have helped make TC&W the largest and most successful short line railroad in Minnesota. The round-trip journeys took delighted passengers from Chanhassen to Cologne or Sacred Heart to Montevideo and back, enjoying box lunches, beautiful scenery and a little history lesson along the way.

Press coverage of the events in local newspapers highlighted the importance of TC&W to the businesses it serves. In a Chanhassen Villagerstory by Unsie Zuege, Lyman Lumber's branch manager John Zirbes told the reporter, "The TC&W is very important to our business. Most of our lumber comes from British Columbia and the western United States. To carry (lumber) that far, you can't truck it, it's too expensive. So we need a healthy railroad to bring us lumber, structural panels, gypsum; it all comes in on rail." Zaire said the company gets hundreds of rail cars every year, "delivered right in the middle of our yard."

In a Hutchinson Leader story, reporter Terry Davis interviewed Brad Kohls, grain manager for South Central Grain and Energy. He said that the connections TC&W provides to four of the nation's Class I rail carriers are vital to his company, which has facilities in Stewart, Buffalo Lake, and Hector, as well as in two other communities served by Minnesota Prairie Line, also operated by TC&W.

"The service is fantastic. It's huge to our producers. They get the benefit of experts in moving grain. TC&W has done a fantastic job," he said. His boss, David Peters agreed, saying, "There is really no way we could get along without the railroad."

Similar views were expressed in the story by Jeff Nielsen, CEO of Winthrop-based United Farmers Cooperative, which operates a grain shuttle facility outside Brownton. According to the story, the co-op is building a major fertilizer distribution plant there as well.

"It opens up a lot more markets for our members to ship all over the world," Nielsen said.

Wegner said the success of the 25th birthday celebration is a reflection of how much TC&W's customers value its service. "We have helped each other grow over the years," he said. "That's exactly what we hoped for when TC&W began operations in 1991."

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Short-line
rail has been connecting Minnesota products with the world since 1991

GLENCOE, Minn.--Later
this month, Minnesota's Twin Cities & Western Railroad (TC&W), one of
the state's busiest short-line freight rail carriers, will transport something
very different -dozens of passengers who, according to TC&W President Mark
Wegner, have helped the company survive and thrive to celebrate its 25th
anniversary. TC&W began service on July 26, 1991, and operates from its
headquarters in Glencoe.

On
July 21 and 22, TC&W will operate a series of special diesel-powered
passenger excursions to thank customers, employees and government leaders who
have helped make the railroad a successful and indispensable asset to rural
Minnesota and eastern South Dakota. Twenty-five years after its founding, the
company is responsible for moving almost $1.5 billion in goods
from Minnesota farms and manufacturers to market in 39 U.S. states, Canada and
Mexico.

"We
have been very fortunate to have the support of the communities we serve and
their elected representatives," Wegner said. "They have created a
positive business environment that has enabled our customers to invest over
$500 million in new or upgraded production, processing and shipping facilities
along the TC&W line."

Wegner said many Twin Cities residents are unaware of
the importance of short-line freight service to the rural communities outside
the metro area.

"Our
20 largest shippers employ more than 2,600 people, and they pay combined total
wages of over $111 million," he noted. "Several are among the largest
employers in their communities. They provide more than $12 million in benefits
to their workers. Good jobs with good benefits are not that easy to find in
many rural areas, so our customers are highly valued as employers."

TC&W
employs more than 85 people at its Glencoe headquarters and other locations,
spending $6 million annually on payroll and benefits, and another $1.2 million
in railroad retirement taxes.

Wegner
said TC&W has a "remarkably loyal and efficient" work force that
deserves much of the credit for the company's success. "Our employees have
been the key to our growth, and the quality of our customer service," he
said.

TC&W's main line extends from the Twin Cities to
Milbank, South Dakota, with branch lines serving grain terminals on the
Mississippi River at Camden Place and Savage. In total, the company operates on
294 route miles of track in Minnesota and 49 miles of track in South Dakota,
linking its shippers to Class I rail carriers including Canadian Pacific, Union
Pacific, BNSF Railway and Canadian National.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Two governmental organizations in Winthrop, Minnesota, have gone on record opposing any relocation of Twin Cities and Western Railroad (TC&W) "that would negatively affect the railroad's ability to continue to serve Heartland Corn Products, United Farmers Cooperative and other rural Minnesota businesses at the same level of safety and efficiency they experience under the status quo."

The Winthrop City Council and Winthrop Opportunities, a local development organization, both passed a resolution expressing concern that Winthrop's local economy could be "seriously harmed" if a reroute of TC&W's freight rail service impaired the ability of the two co-ops to continue to ship their goods safely and cost-effectively.

Winthrop Mayor Dave Trebelhorn signed the resolution on behalf of the City Council, while Winthrop Opportunities Board Chair Lance Wiborg signed on behalf of that organization.

The complete text of the resolution follows:

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF TWIN CITIES & WESTERN RAILROAD

WHEREAS, the Twin Cities and Western Railroad (TC&W) provides a vital freight rail link between dozens of rural Minnesota businesses and national and international markets; and,WHEREAS, the largest 20 companies served by TC&W ship nearly $1.5 billion in client goods from rural Minnesota communities to destinations around the globe, and employ more than 2,600 Minnesota and South Dakota residents; and,WHEREAS, TC&W shippers across western Minnesota have invested more than $500 million in building and/or upgrading production, processing and shipping facilities along the existing TC&W route; and,WHEREAS, these rural companies rely on TC&W freight rail service because it is the safest and most cost-effective shipping alternative available to them; and,WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Council is currently considering route proposals for the Southwest Light Rail Transit (SLRT) project that would require the relocation of TC&W freight rail service to an alternate route that is less safe and less cost-effective than the railroad's existing route; and,WHEREAS, Heartland Cort Products (HCP) AND United Farmers Cooperative (UFC), both companies that rely on TC&W freight service, are two of our community's most valued employers and important contributors to our economic health; and,WHEREAS, our local economy would be seriously harmed if relocation of TC&W's freight rail route impaired the ability of HCP and UFC or other rural Minnesota businesses to continue to ship their goods safely and cost-effectively;NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Winthrop City Council officially opposes any relocation of Twin Cities and Western Railroad that would negatively affect the railroad's ability to continue to serve HCP, UFC and other rural Minnesota businesses at the same level of safety and cost-efficiency they experience under the status quo; and,BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be forwarded to Governor Mark Dayton, Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh, local legislators and the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

After reviewing a technical analysis prepared by a South
Dakota engineering firm, Twin Cities & Western Railroad (TC&W) today
announced that it has rejected a proposal by Transystems, an independent
consultant, to relocate freight rail service from the Kenilworth
Corridor to a St. Louis Park route. The engineering analysis described the
Transystems proposal as “neither efficient, safe nor cost effective when
compared to TC&W’s current route.”

TC&W President Mark Wegner said he received the report yesterday
from Civil Design, Inc. (CDI). It highlighted a number of specific problems
with the St. Louis Park route recommended by independent consultant Transystems
on January 30. “The operating conditions proposed by the Transystems alignment
would be detrimental in every respect to current and future operating
conditions for the TC&W,” the report concluded.

The Transystems plan would reroute freight rail traffic
through St. Louis Park on the MN&S rail line owned by Canadian Pacific. It
is only slightly different from the plan proposed in the October 2012 Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) published by Hennepin County.

Among the problems cited in the CDI report to TC&W:

--The proposed
reroute does not meet mainline standards for Class I railroad construction as
required by the length and weight of TC&W trains moving freight to and from
Class I carriers;

--The
installation of a Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) signal controlled by other
railroads would force TC&W trains to wait on the track for access rights
from the controlling railroads, causing costly and inefficient delays;

--The reroute includes three
reverse curves, also known as S-curves, and multiple undulating grades in less
than one mile, unsafe elements that should be “avoided at all costs,” according
to the American Railroad Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association
(AREMA), which reports that such elements can “greatly increase the likelihood
of the train buckling and thus derailment.”

--The route requires tracks to be
built on bridges, creating higher maintenance and repair costs, but there is no
agreement as to who would be responsible for those costs.

Wegner said it’s hard for him to understand why Transystems
recommended a St. Louis Park reroute that is only slightly different from the
DEIS plan that TC&W rejected. He said the railroad wasn’t asked for input
in either case until the designs already had been made public.

In contrast, Wegner pointed to the Brunswick Central reroute
option, which TC&W found acceptable from a safety perspective. That route,
which skirts the St. Louis Park High School’s football field, was developed by
the Metropolitan Council with the collaboration of Canadian Pacific and
TC&W to meet Class I mainline safety and engineering standards.

“You don’t build passenger aircraft to meet minimum safety
standards; you don’t build road bridges to meet minimum weight standards .These
designs have numerous safety redundancies built in,” Wegner said. “When state
and federal authorities are looking at freight rail options here in the Twin
Cities, it’s hard to imagine them taking the position that a less safe route is
preferable to our current route.”

The failure to meet Class I safety and engineering standards
makes it impossible for TC&W to accept the Transystem plan, Wegner concluded,
because “it does not allow us to protect our current and future shippers in Minnesota
and South Dakota.”

Thursday, November 7, 2013

A group of rural business leaders and community officials has urged Governor Mark Dayton to recognize the importance of TC&W freight rail service to rural Minnesota as he works with the Metropolitan Council to evaluate various proposals for routing the Southwest Light Rail Transitway (SLRT).

The group of 36 rural shippers, mayors, county commissioners and economic development officials signed an October 17 letter to the Governor, requesting that he "encourage SLRT planners and decision-makers to recognize the statewide implications of the project, and consider the impact of their freight rail decisions on rural Minnesota as well as the communities of the metro area."

"There has been very little discussion of the statewide impact of SLRT as it relates to the indispensable freight rail service that keeps our rural economies vibrant and growing," the signers wrote, noting that the businesses served by TC&W sell more than $4 billion worth of goods to markets in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and overseas, employing more than 2,660 people with an annual payroll of over $111 million.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

St. Paul, MN (Oct. 8, 2013)--Twin Cities and Western
Railroad (TC&W), the freight rail carrier at the heart of the Southwest
Light Rail Transitway (SLRT) planning process, is a key player in the economic
health of rural Minnesota, according to a study conducted by KlasRobinson
Q.E.D., a Twin Cities market research firm that based its findings on a
confidential survey of the railroad’s largest customers.

The study,
released today, shows that TC&W’s largest 20 shippers generate more than $4
billion in combined annual sales, and ship more than 37 percent of those goods,
about $1.5 billion worth, via the Glencoe-based freight line.

Seventeen of the top 20 shippers
are rural Minnesota companies or agricultural cooperatives that utilize the
railroad to reach markets in 39 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces and four
Mexican states. They ship a diverse array of products ranging from corn,
soybeans, wheat, sugar and vegetables to ethanol, fertilizer, machinery,
lumber, crushed rock, metals, plastics, fuel oil, and manufactured goods.

Together, the 20 companies employ
an estimated 2,660 employees with combined annual wages of over $111 million. Over
the past two decades, they have invested more than $500 million in production,
processing and shipping facilities located along the existing TC&W rail
line.

“The magnitude
of the direct impacts of Twin Cities and Western Railroad and its customers
provides compelling evidence of the importance of the freight rail carrier to
Minnesota’s rural economy,” the report concludes.

TC&W’s
role in the regional transportation picture has become more important as
planning for the SLRT project has accelerated. Under federal law, the interests
of freight rail operators and shippers must be considered in the development of
passenger rail service.

TC&W President Mark Wegner said
there’s a reason for that federal policy.“It preserves freight rail transportation,” said Wegner. “but more
importantly, it preserves thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of
investment by rural businesses that rely on us to get their goods to market
safely and cost-effectively.”

###

Twin Cities &
Western Railroad is a Class III rail carrier based in Glencoe, MN. It operates
over 229 miles of track between the Twin Cities and western Minnesota/eastern
South Dakota, connecting with all Class I railroads and providing a gateway to
world markets for its agricultural and manufacturing customers.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

The president of Twin Cities and Western Railroad (TC&W)
has officially notified Hennepin County officials that the proposed design for
rerouting of freight rail service to accommodate the Southwest Light Rail
Transitway (SLRT) “fails to meet recognized standards of engineering and
safety.”

Mark
Wegner’s comments appeared in a letter accompanying TC&W’s detailed
response to the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) published by
Hennepin County in October. December 31 was the final deadline for submission
of response comments.

The DEIS
describes a “locally preferred alternative” route that would require relocation
of TC&W’s freight rail line. Before that route can be approved by federal regulatory
agencies and become eligible for federal funding, the freight railroad must
sign off on the proposed relocation plan and relinquish its rights to its
current route. Federal rail policy requires that the interests of freight rail
operators and shippers be considered in the development of passenger rail
projects.

TC&W is
a key player in the economic health of western Minnesota and eastern South
Dakota, Wegner said, providing farmers and manufacturers across the region with
vital access to national and international markets. He said the proposed
changes to the existing freight rail route have the potential to produce
negative impacts on the “availability, safety, efficiency and cost of the freight
rail service our customers depend on.”

“We always
have been supportive of the light rail project, as long as it is implemented in
a way that preserves our ability to provide our customers with safe and
efficient service at the same costs they now pay,” said Wegner. “However, this
design does not meet those tests.”

An earlier
design of the reroute plan which had more moderate grade increases and gentler
curves was presented to TC&W officials in 2008, but that design never made
it into the DEIS, Wegner said. Hennepin County staff members were notified more
than a year ago that the “locally preferred alternative” was not acceptable to
TC&W due to safety, efficiency and cost concerns.

“We hope
that Hennepin County and the Met Council respond quickly and decisively to our
input,” Wegner said. “We want to be able to support the SLRT project and work
constructively with the jurisdictions involved, but we can’t give up our right
to operate on our existing route unless we are satisfied that the relocation
plan is comparable in safety, efficiency and cost to what we have now.”

Wegner’s
letter and the full TC&W response to the DEIS are available on the
railroad’s website at http://www.tcwr.net,
along with other key documents and appendices.

About Me

Formed in 1991, TC&W is a short-line railroad providing freight rail service between eastern South Dakota and the Twin Cities, where we connect with all of the nation's major rail carriers. We provide our customers with a gateway to the global marketplace, helping them and the communities we serve create jobs, sustain economic health and promote business growth.